InformationWeek

February 9, 1998

Notebooks Upgraded

Toshiba adds speed and features

By Tom Davey

oshiba America Information Systems Inc. is rolling out enhanced versions of two notebook computers. The slim "ultracompact" Portege is beginning to provide the power and performance of many larger notebooks. And the Satellite Pro provides budget-minded buyers of standard-sized notebooks with more power.

The Portege 320CT, available in mid-March, doubles the microprocessor speed of its 300CT predecessor, from a 133-MHz Pentium to a 266-MHz Pentium MMX. Hard-drive capacity jumps from 1.5 Gbytes to 3.8 Gbytes. The machine will also have 32 Mbytes of RAM (expandable to 64 Mbytes), 2 Mbyt es of video memory, 512 Kbytes of Level 2 internal cache, and a 56-Kbps modem.

"It's designed for cramped working conditions such as airplane seating," says Toshiba product manager Ray Sawall, pointing out the model's small size-10.3 by 7.6 by 1.35 inches. The machine includes a 10.4-inch, 1,024-by-600-pixel active-matrix screen. At $3,699, however, it's not for those with cramped pocketbooks.

Toshiba will immediately ship the new version of Satellite Pro, a standard-sized notebook. The 470CDT model has a 200-MHz Pentium MMX and a 2-Gbyte hard drive. It also has 32 Mbytes of memory, a 12.1-inch active-matrix screen with 800-by-600-pixel resolution, a 10x CD-ROM drive, and a 33.6-Kbps modem.

The 470CDT's $2,949 price tag should keep Toshiba on par with vendors of comparable products. Nathan Nuttall, an analyst at Sherwood Research Inc. in Wellesley, Mass., notes that the 470CDT is priced nearly the same as Toshiba's comparably equipped Satellite 300 consumer model. PC makers usuall y charge more for corporate notebooks than consumer ones, a difference they say is due to compatibility testing and extra communications hardware as well as higher profit margins. But margins may be starting to shrink, with notebook prices falling.

"The $1,000 delta between corporate and consumer models is rapidly disappearing," says Nuttall. "Toshiba has caught on that corporate accounts are going to start questioning why they pay more just because it's a corporate brand."